The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus for forming and outputting an image on a medium.
As an image forming apparatus for forming and outputting an image on a medium, multi function printers (MFP) having a printing function for printing out document files and the like, a scanner function for reading an image from a document, a copy function for printing and outputting a read image on paper, a facsimile function, and the like are popular. This kind of image forming apparatus may be installed in a workplace, however, often such image forming apparatuses are also installed in commercial facilities such as convenience stores and the like. MFPs are large and expensive, so especially when an individual uses an MFP for personal use, the individual often uses an MFP that is installed in a commercial facility.
On the other hand, people can freely enter and leave such commercial facilities. Therefore, special care is required when handling highly confidential information by such MFPs. For example, care is required when this kind of confidential information is displayed on a printing preview screen on a display unit (display) of the MFP. Therefore, in typical technology, there are image forming apparatuses in which a sensor recognizes the state of moving bodies (people) around the MFP and sets the confidentiality of the information according to that state, and when confidentiality is high, performs an operation so that the image on the display unit is reduced and becomes difficult to see, or performs an operation so that the image is not displayed. As a result, when confidentiality is determined to be high, that confidentiality is maintained by the preview image related to such information becoming difficult or impossible to see by other people in the vicinity of the MFP.